Pastor Anthony is the founding pastor of Breakthrough Church, a new nontraditional church plant in northeast San Antonio that seeks to help people live abundantly in the freedom that is found in Christ.

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Can The Wizard Give Me Courage?

Last year I did a sermon series using the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy was the little girl who was lost and needed to find her way home (Luke 15), the scarecrow represented those who needed a a renewed mind (Romans 12:1-2), the Tin Man represented those who needed a change of heart (Psalm 51:10) and of course there was the Lion who needed courage (Joshua 1). I taught that these people put their trust in a Wizard that turned out to be nothing more than a man behind a curtain pulling handles and turning knobs. If they really wanted to experience change, they had to put their trust in the hands of Almighty God and not a man or a wizard.

The Lion happens to be my favorite. He was designed to be the leader in the jungle, but because of his insecurities he was reduced to picking on an animal as small as Toto. Over the course of the journey to Oz, the Lion had to use courage to save his friends and press toward his goal. In other words, what he needed was inside of him, but two things brought it out of him. The companions and the journey.

It is important to have the right people around you to lift you up when you’re down, to encourage you, and to motivate you. They should also hold you accountable. By far the most important companion we have is the Holy Spirit. He is with us for the long haul, and will never turn His back on us, or leave us hanging.

The journey teaches us to walk by faith. It helps us to develop into the people God designed us to be. And at the end of the journey, there won’t be a man behind a curtain, but a loving God that fulfilled His promise to bring us safely home.

So lions, get your roar together, stop messing with Toto, and step onto the path that leads to eternity. Be blessed!

I appreciate you reading the blog entry even though you don’t agree with most of it. It is very important to have good traveling companions in life’s journey, but it is my belief that there is no greater companion than Christ. I am aware of the historical titles given to those who practiced “magic”. I believe by faith, that what Jesus did was not “magic” but instead divine power. It is that same power that has helped me overcome major hurdles when there was NO ONE ELSE there to help. We have to believe for ourselves but I am convinced there is a God who is concerned about us.